


Blindness

by Dracula



Category: All Quiet on the Western Front - Erich Maria Remarque, Im Westen nichts Neues - Erich Maria Remarque
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-17
Updated: 2013-01-17
Packaged: 2017-11-25 19:10:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 577
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/642082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dracula/pseuds/Dracula
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A soldier gets shot during World War I and gets blind. Will he survive?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blindness

**Author's Note:**

> I'm just a German English-learner, so please don't be too angry about mistakes.
> 
> If you have questions, feel free to ask!

Suddenly, I felt a strong pain. Then, darkness came over me. I fell to the ground. Despite from some shoots, I could hear the voice of one of one of my comrades. "He is dead" he said and then left me. ´He!´ I wanted to shout. ´You can't just leave me alone!´ But I was not able to do so. Neither I could speak nor move. I was scared. I had pain. They had shot into my eye. This dozy state lasted for a while. To me, it seemed to be eternal. Every second someone could come and kill me, and I would not be able to do anything against it. Unconsciousness seemed to be a salvation.

After some time, I woke up. Someone had shot into my left eye, but the pain went over in the other one. The wound must have inflamed and the inflamation must have gone to my right eye, fur I could not see anything on it. I had become blind; that was what I knew. I sat up slowly. I felt dizzy. Blood ran through my face. I must have lost a lot of it. That would explain this giddiness. I felt around my surroundings and found a long stick which could help me to orientate.

Carefully, I got up. I heard a noice. Was it an enemy standing behind me? I did not know. Wind blew. I froze. The only thing I could hear was the terrible, painful moaning of some other injured soldiers. Having pain, I also moaned. I had to keep my eyes closed, for the wind caused even more pain.

With the stick swinging in front of me, as I had seen some other blind people doing before, I went into the direction in which I guessed our camp to be. I had to imagine the stick being a part of me; that helped me with using it and, of course, with preventing from falling our running against things. I knew I had to go to a field hospital. But where was it? Did I go into the right direction? Or did I go towards an enemy? What time was it? Had the sun already set? All these questions came into my mind.

Finally, I heard some voices. I listened for a moment to get sure whether these voices were the ones of my comrades. "Look!" one of my friends shouted. "He's still alive! I'll go out and help him to go inside."

Suddenly, there was another shot. Again, I fell down unconsciously. Being blind, I had forgotten to hide myself! The next thing I remember is standing next to my body. I had become a ghost.

I was scared. This situation was completely unknown to me. I tried to speak to my friend, who came towards my corpse, but seemingly he did not notice me. After having felt my pulse, he whispered sadly: "It's too late."

I could see other soldiers - friends and enemies - who had died before and had also become ghosts. Enemies! Now, there were no real enemies any more. We all were in the same desperate situation, and if we wanted to go through, we had to hold side by side.

This was almost 100 years ago from now, and the unusual got usual. I cannot complain, for now I am a kind of a "protector" who protects soldiers in dangerous war missions, and as a ghost, I am able to see again.


End file.
